Conducive Conditions: Standing Water

Pests

Mosquitoes, Rodents, Other Pests

Description

Standing water is water outside that remains for more than a week after rain or irrigation. Toys, tarps, bird baths, trash cans, buckets, poor drainage, leaky plumbing, leaky faucets, or leaky sprinklers can all result in standing water.

Why it’s a problem

Mosquito larvae develop in water, so standing water increases mosquito abundance. Also, most other insects thrive in high moisture conditions, so standing water can help increase abundance of many other insect pests. Finally, roof rats need to drink water daily. Standing water provides them with a handy source for hydration.

What to do about it

Don’t leave items out that can collect water. Repair any leaks as soon as you find them. Dump bird baths weekly. Ponds or other water features are usually not as big of a problem for mosquitoes or other insects since they are too deep for those insects, the presence of predatory insects and fish keep pests from being a problem, or water flow prevents mosquito development.